


support

by orro



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Gen, Mentor/Protégé
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-19 18:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17007288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orro/pseuds/orro
Summary: “This will be our last season together,” Lilia says, speaking over Yuri.





	support

**Author's Note:**

> Porting tumblr ficlets before it implodes.

Yuri typically is in Lilia’s studio before her on Tuesdays due to their schedules; she thinks he likes the half hour of quiet that he has before she shows up to terrorize him. Though he likes that too, in his own way, even if it hurts. Lilia doesn’t linger to watch him as she has other days. She steps in, dressed to train and to battle.

“Before we begin, I have something I need to discuss with you,” Lilia says and Yuri drops his position despite the way her mouth twists.

“I can guess-”

“This will be our last season together,” Lilia says, speaking over him. He’s taller than her but that doesn’t do anything for him. Not when he’s here in her studio, ready for her to shatter him into pieces before she rebuilds him into something more beautiful each time.

Yuri’s nostrils flare and his shoulders sink a little before he scowls and straightens up again.

“I know.”

“Good,” she says.

They’re both quiet for a moment, a little awkward, but Lilia knows there’s more Yuri wants to say. It would be better for him to speak first. He’s not the first student she’s had to let go and he won’t be the last. And she’s not the first instructor he’s left behind.

But she knows it’s different for them, because there has been a connection, and anytime a student flourishes under her teachings, Lilia has them burned into her mind. She pours so much of herself into her dancing and instruction, it aches when her students outgrow her. But her pride at her students’ progressions always outweighs her melancholy.

Yuri is no different in that regard.

“Thanks. For everything, “ he blurts out, hands clenched at his sides and refusing to make eye contact with her, as if the floorboards were that riveting.

“We’re not done yet,” Lilia reminds him. She claps her hands, the sound startling Yuri into lifting his head. “We have the season to train for. You’ll be transitioning this year fully from your old grace to your new self, and I expect a seamless finish by the end.”

“Yakov says you hate my new programs.” Yuri has a shitty little grin, and she flashes back to five years ago at the fifteen year old brat that he will never fully outgrow.

Lilia does not smirk but she raises her chin.

“He’s a simple man. Turning a boy from a fairy to a tiger is ridiculous and I let him know that in no uncertain terms. I expect more from you.”

“Tigers are cool-” Yuri begins to protest.

“I saw a boy who embodied the beauty of power and strength. I expect to see a man turn that into victory and history. Can you do that?” Lilia watches as Yuri turns her words over, the way he sets his feet ready to dance. He understands but more than that, he turns it into his own path, and Lilia can never get enough of watching him.

“Let’s stop wasting time and get started,” Yuri declares.

Lilia allows herself a smile now. She’ll miss this. But oh what a surprise the world has waiting for them. Yuri will blow them away again and again, and all too soon, she’ll be part of the crowd that watches to be amazed.


End file.
